Major in Portuguese

Pre-Admission Requirements for a BA in Portuguese

  1. A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.
  2. A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work:
    1. Transfer students must have a 2.00 transfer GPA
    2. Continuing UNM students must have a 2.00 institutional GPA
  3. Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:
    1. Completion of the University Writing and Speaking Core
    2. Completion of the University Mathematics Core
    3. Completion of the University Foreign Language Core
  4. Completion of Department of Spanish & Portuguese major admission course work with grades of “C” or better for PORT 2115 or 2120

Core Requirements

Requirements include:

30 credit hours in Portuguese courses numbered 2115 & above, plus, demonstrated 202/2115 skill level in another (third) language other than Portuguese and English.  All grades must be “C” or higher in order to count toward the degree.

Required courses (12 credit hours):

Choose one of the following 6 credit hours courses;

  • PORT 2115 Intensive Intermediate Portuguese (Course prerequisite: PORT 1120 or 2110) - OR -
  • PORT 2120 Intensive Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
  • Choose two of the following courses (for a total of 6 credit hours):
  • PORT 301 Conversation and Pronunciation - AND / OR -
  • PORT 311 Culture and Composition - AND / OR -
  • PORT 312 Culture and Conversation

6 Elective courses (18 credit hours):

Choose elective courses from the list below:

  • PORT 301 Conversation and Pronunciation - OR -
  • PORT 311 Culture and Composition - OR -
  • PORT 312 Culture and Conversation
  • (PORT 301, 311, 312 are non-repeatable courses. Students have the option to select one of these courses as an elective based on their choices from the Required courses category above).
  • PORT 335 Brazilian Popular Culture
  • PORT 414 Topics in Luso-Brazilian Literature and Culture { R }
  • PORT 416 Brazilian Cinema
  • PORT 417 Popular Brazilian Music
  • PORT 421 Brazilian Theater
  • PORT 457 Encounters with the New World I
  • PORT 458 Encounters with the New World II
  • PORT 461 Topics in Brazilian Literature { R }

{ R } = repeatable course with change in topic.

Another (third) language (Demonstrated skill at the 202/2115 level):

Demonstrated skill may be established by either a) passing a Foreign Language Proficiency test administered by a faculty member - or - taking the necessary courses. Spanish is an excellent second language for students in Portuguese because of the similarity of the two languages, the geographical proximity, and the job opportunities available to speakers of both languages.

Course Challenges

If you earn a grade of A or B in a Portuguese course numbered 2115, or 301, or 311, you can purchase credit hours for any of the preceding 1000 or 2000 level courses without taking an exam. A Course Challenge form must be processed and UNM tuition (for any of the 3 or 6 credit courses) must be paid.

Study Abroad

Portuguese majors may apply up to 15 credit hours of courses taken abroad toward their degree requirements.